Comic Relieved
by Weavillain
Summary: Luan wants nothing more than to be left alone after a humiliating experience at a comedy club. Luna wants nothing more than to be there for her little sister and she thinks she knows how to help her. (Two-shot)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Man, what is it about two-shots that just…y'know, speak to me? I don't get it. Maybe I'll be a two-shot in a second life or something.

But whatever, that's not what matters here. What matters is that I'm trying, the keyword being _trying_ , to write a Luan-centric story that I personally feel satisfied with. Seeing as how she's my least favorite Loud sister, I won't be so sure if I hit all the right notes on this one.

But let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best, shall we?

* * *

Luan leaned her head against the window, staring blankly out as all the familiar houses of her neighborhood whizzed by as her father drove closer and closer to home. Even in the middle of the night, she had enough familiarity with the streets to know that they would be home in about three minutes, give or take.

Though the cold glass of the window stung, it was nothing in comparison to the cold feeling of how hollow she felt on the inside. Mere remnants of her joy remained intact but Luan felt that soon enough, they would be swept away in no time by the winds of her ever-growing melancholy.

In a way, it was worse now that it was over than when it was actually happening to her. At least then, everything was happening at once and she didn't register what was going on until her brain finally caught up with her.

But now that it was all over, try as she might, she couldn't escape the snapshots of every painful, humiliating moment of the catastrophe as one by one, the memories of her failure ambushed her from all sides: every mocking laugh, every hurled insult, every hot tear that ran down her face, every soft, pleading whimper as she begged them to stop…they just wouldn't leave her alone no matter how much she willed her mind to put it behind her.

Her first real gig, her first time being booked at a comedy club and getting the chance to show off her material to an unfamiliar audience; it had all been a disaster. A tough crowd was an understatement; they were downright _ruthless_. She had read about dealing with hecklers before but she was always under the impression that they would only take up about a meager fraction of the audience and that they'd be an inconsequential distraction if she could just look past them.

But everyone, sans her parents, gave her absolute hell back there. There was no getting past that, that sea of jeering and scoffing faces as they put her through the wringer. She couldn't even get through her third joke before the patrons of the club pelted her verbally with scorn, demeaning her efforts and taunting her for even trying to take up comedy.

Though her parents ultimately saved her by getting her off the stage and running out the building as fast as they could, the feeling of humiliation clung to her, sticking to her like a second skin. The only reprieve she had was that mercifully, her siblings weren't there to watch her fail so spectacularly. But even then, it wouldn't matter in a few moments anyway.

She knew them well enough; she knew that as soon as she tried to shuffle off to her room to sulk the night away, someone would catch onto her sullen mood and try to pry the truth out of her. Soon after that, another sibling would join in the interrogation, then another, then another, then another…until she'd be caught in the middle, surrounded by a barrage of probing questions that she felt would only rub salt in the wounds as they'd only prompt her to relive that embarrassment all over again.

Besides, even if she did tell them everything, it wasn't as if they'd truly feel sympathetic. Oh sure, they'd feel sorry for the fact that she was so broken up about her bad night but beyond that? What reason did they have to console her? She knew well enough to know that her jokes with them were more misses than hits and the hits mostly revolved around prop comedy, something that she didn't want to rely on for her gig.

Were they supposed to sit there and pretend that they couldn't understand why she'd been laughed at? Why she had been dragged through the mud so harshly? Why, if they weren't related and they had met each other for the first time at that comedy club, chances are, they would've probably been laughing at her expense just like the rest of them.

The thought of that, the thought of her siblings tormenting her, made Luan's eyes water again, something that hadn't happened since the first five minutes of her awkward, silent drive home. None of her parents knew what to say or do to make he feel better, probably because they would've found their words glib.

More tears fell and Luan did nothing to stifle the sound of her weeping. All she wanted was to find her place in the world with her aspirations, to impress an unbiased crowd with her wit and comedic timing, to get a first taste of a professional comedian's routine and soar beyond her own expectations.

Why? Why was it _so_ wrong for that to happen to her?

"Luan?"

The soft calling of her name, from her mother, broke her out of her stewing and into the present, prompting her to remove her head from against the window and look ahead of her; they were in the driveway of her house now.

"Luan, we're home," Rita said when her daughter didn't respond.

Yes…they were most certainly home. And right now, she'd rather be anywhere _but_ home. The last thing she needed was to be the center of attention. That _already_ went spectacularly wrong tonight.

"Sweetie," Lynn Sr. said as he turned back to look at his daughter, "I know things went really bad for you back there but you can't stay out here in the van all night."

"B-but…but I…" Luan protested weakly, her voice choking up.

She wiped away at her burning eyes with her forearm, missing the concerned looks that her parents gave each other as they watched Luan try to compose herself.

"I-I don't want anyone seeing me like this," Luan continued. "I'm just so…so…"

Her head drooped down, wanting nothing more than for the ground to her swallow her up.

" _Ashamed,_ " she whispered hoarsely before she broke down into another sobbing fit, her tears staining the fabric of her skirt as they plopped out one at a time.

"Luan…" Lynn Sr. said, reaching out his hand so he could tilt her chin up to look into her eyes.

Seeing it coming once it came into her line of vision, Luan shrunk back against her seat to get away. Lynn Sr. retreated his hand, seeing her daughter's reaction as a sign that she wanted her space. But still, that didn't mean he would allow her to stay in the van.

He got out of the van and walked around it until he was right at the door closest to Luan and opened it, washing Luan with a sudden breeze of the chilly night air that made her shudder.

"Luan, please just…just come out the van, okay? If you want to be alone, just go to your room and I'll make sure no one bothers you until you feel better."

Though his request was soft, she knew that it wasn't pliable. She'd have to go inside, no matter how heavy her feet felt and how hard her heart beat against her ribs in anxiety.

Nodding, she unbuckled her seatbelt and slunk out the van, closing the door behind her with a soft _*thump*_. Her mother came out and was at her side to wrap an arm around her shoulders. Though she didn't find the embrace of any help, Luan didn't fight out of it and allowed for her mother to lead her to the front door as her father walked beside her.

Once they made it there, Luan watched her father pull out his keys and unlock the door, unsealing the light from the living room and the sounds of multiple voices speaking out all at once, no doubt her siblings minding their own business. She didn't know for sure who was in there right now since she was trying to tune them out and was staring at the ground the whole time.

Though she was grateful that she wasn't surrounded by all sides with concerned siblings yet, Luan knew that eventually, they'd be of one accord once they got a good look at her and wanted answers to what had happened to her.

She just didn't expect for it happen literally the second she took her first step inside. Apparently, fate decided that she couldn't even be afforded with a few precious seconds of reprieve before the inevitable occurred.

Lucky her.

"Oh my gosh, Luan!" she heard Leni cry out.

The chattering came to a stop.

"Wait, what happened to Luan?" she heard Luna ask from the top of the stairs.

"Luan's hurt?" she heard Lana ask from the kitchen.

Soon, whether they had been upstairs or whether they were in the living room up close to her, as she feared, an army of siblings surrounded her and her parents. Even without her eyes in front of her, she could feel the weight of their stares boring into her.

"Everyone," Rita said sternly, "Luan just needs some space right now. For now, just leave her alone while she goes to her room. Go back to what you were doing before we showed up and don't bother her. Understand?"

At that, they immediately dispersed, making a pathway for the stairs that they had unknowingly blocked off. None of them, however, went very far as the curiosity of Luan's predicament coaxed them to stick around from a respectable distance.

"I'll be fine for the rest of the way," Luan said and slowly made her walk of shame up the stairs, not once looking around her to avoid soaking in the looks of pity she was undoubtedly getting right now.

She didn't want them nor did she feel as if she deserved; like she had decided before, they wouldn't tell her the truth, the truth that she was a horrible comedian and the only reason why they tolerated her comedic shortcomings was because they were related.

Finally, Luan was in front of her bedroom door. It was already open, probably because Luna had been in there and rushed out to see what was going on with her like everyone else did. That was fine with her; she didn't think she had the strength to do anything more than flop onto her bed in a boneless heap and muffle out her imminent sobs in her pillow, never mind opening a door all by herself.

Slowly, she dragged her feet closer and closer towards her bed, thinking all the while about the rough patch she was in.

The last thing she wanted was to talk to any of her siblings about her bad night. The less they knew, the less they'd have an idea of what happened and their ignorance to the situation would mean that she wouldn't be condescendingly comforted with deceit.

At last, she was in front of the bottom bunk of the bed. Without bothering to slip into her comfortable nightwear, Luan flopped forward, landing face first into the bed without a care in the world.

Even in the solace of her room, she couldn't feel that much more comforted than before but at least it was something. But she knew that soon enough, they'd catch onto what happened. It wouldn't take long for them to put two and two together and try to reach out to her in an obligated but shallow approach at uplifting her spirits.

Luan prayed against that, hoping that unlike with her jokes, they _wouldn't_ get it.

* * *

 **A/N:** Poor Luan. Getting heckled sucks. This fic was partially inspired from what happened to me when I tried presenting a slideshow of my cancer research project a few years ago in high school. My reception wasn't as vicious as Luan's, nor was I "performing", but I felt that the experiences could be synonymous enough to make a few decent comparisons.

But hey, I remember getting a good grade so at least I had something to celebrate. :P


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** So yeah, this is where the T rating starts to come in. Though not a lot, there is some adult language that you need to look out for if that's not your thing so…yeah. Just saying.

* * *

It didn't take a mental giant, or in the Loud family's case, a four-year-old super genius, to know what had happened with Luan. Shortly after Luan went off to her room, her sisters and only brother got together in the living room and got to the root of the matter in a hurry, needing but a few minutes to piece together everything that surely occurred.

They knew all about Luan's gig; it was all she could talk about ever since she got it nearly a week ago. They also knew that Luan Loud had never looked so despondent before. It was like she was a completely different person, someone who just so happened to look like Luan and sound like Luan but certainly not act like her.

They all figured that something terrible must've happened to her at the comedy club to make her like that, to the point where she didn't even want to see anyone while being holed up in her room.

So, with that conclusion met, everyone agreed to stay downstairs and watch TV together while Luan had her room to herself. Though it didn't happen all at once, by about an hour and a half later, everyone eventually settled into the moment and watched TV without fuss.

Everyone… _except_ for Luna.

Though she didn't show it on the outside, wanting to blend in without stirring suspicions of her anxiousness, she couldn't help but helpless and worst of all, unwanted. Whenever Luan would get bummed out, if she didn't confide her woes to her parents, Luna would be the first person she'd run off to. And somehow, some way, she'd always have the right thing to say that would make her feel better.

But now? Now that she was forced to butt out, not only because her mother told her to, but because Luan herself probably didn't want to see anyone, she was completely out of her element. Physically, she was separated from her favorite sister and emotionally, Luan had distanced herself from her usual disposition, to the point where all that was left was someone who didn't want to be comforted by anyone.

Not even _her_.

A gentle nudge in the ribs from Lola, who was trying to get comfortable in her seat on the couch next to her, shook her out of her mulling and with her focus now affixed to reality, the reality that had Luan in pieces, she knew that she couldn't just sit by and let Luan suffer any longer.

She had to do something and she was going to do it now, even if it meant that she had to bust down her bedroom door and get Luan to open up to her by force.

Rising off the couch slowly, Luna's pulse began speeding up as she did her best to quietly slip away without her siblings noticing her. Since she was on the far-left end of the couch and closest to the staircase, she had no doubt in her mind that she could do it.

Finally, off the couch, Luna didn't bother looking back, only wanting to move forward as quickly but as quietly as she could.

The bottom step was now in her sights. Just a few more steps and she'd-

"Luna?"

Luna froze just as her foot was about to hit the bottom step. She didn't need to turn around to know that Lori, the person who was calling out to her, had her eyes fashioned in narrowed slits and her arms folded across her chest as she looked at Luna expectantly for a response to her stern address.

Finally, Luna pivoted her head around until she saw, just as she pictured, Lori silently waiting for her to speak for herself and her incriminating position. Her other siblings, though not as aggressively inquisitive as Lori was, remained curious all the same.

"Where are you going? You know upstairs is off limits," Lori asserted with a light growl.

' _Ah, crap! Think, Luna, you gotta find a way out of this or else you'll…wait a second…crap! That's it!'_

Smiling inwardly, Luna gave her onlookers a queasy grin, followed by slightly doubling over and clutching onto her stomach with both hands.

"Uh…gotta hit the loo," Luna chuckled shyly. "I need to drop a deuce like it was a hot album."

To her delight, Lori's bellicosity was replaced by indignation as she retched and waved her off to attend her business.

"Ugh, T.M.I," Lori groaned.

Luna shrugged "Hey, you asked."

Before she could get any further with her newfound clearance, Lana halted Luna in her tracks with a request.

"Send me some pictures after you're done. I wanna see if it's bigger than the one I took two days ago."

"If you could also preserve a requisite sample of your feces for me, I'll procure it from you later," Lisa added soon afterwards. "My poop studies must continue without a hitch."

"Does 'T.M.I' mean nothing in this house?!" Lori all but shrieked.

Such an outburst soon devolved into a cacophony of arguing siblings, an occurrence that was to be expected with a family as big as the Loud's, even if the reason behind them was nowhere near solid enough to warrant it.

' _Thanks, Lana. You too, Lisa. I owe you both one,'_ Luna thought, feeling that with everyone focusing on each other, they wouldn't remember that she would be absent for a while.

As Luna walked up the stairs, still doing it quietly enough so as not to alert her parents, she thought back to how she was going to coax Luan to divulge her with her sorrows. Like always, once Luan let her into her heart as she cast her aspersions upon her, Luna would play it by ear and find assuring, earnest words that would at least begin the healing process.

But from the looks of things, Luan didn't want to be healed, or if she did, she didn't think that her rock star wannabe of a sister would be able to do anything about it, a thought that made Luna feel uneasy to say the least.

At last, she was in front of her bedroom and to her surprise, the door was still open, it left in the same spot where it was when she flung it open once she ran out of her room to check on Luan. Though her room was unlit, Luna could still Luan, huddled into a ball in her bunk and facing the wall.

' _It's even worse than I thought. Well, I've come this far. No turning back now, Luna.'_

With her fist balled, she rapped her knuckles softly against the door and softly spoke out.

"Knock knock."

* * *

Luan flinched, hoping against her fears of Luna standing just by the doorway and peering inside the room.

"Knock knock," came the raspy, familiar voice of Luna again, along with the soft knocking that made her press deeper into the mattress in a desperate but futile attempt to escape her sight.

Though she knew she'd have to confront her siblings eventually, Luan had prayed that they'd listen to her mother and just leave her alone for now and let her have solace in solitude.

But even if they didn't, why on Earth did her meddler have to be Luna of all people?

"C'mon, Luan, it's the oldest set-up in the book," Luna said jovially. "I say, 'Knock knock' and then you ask, 'Who's there?'."

Groaning, Luan folded herself in more, hoping that Luna got the incommunicative message and would just buzz off already. When she doesn't hear her shuffling away with an apology, Luan resorts to a genuinely felt but harsh brand of resistance.

"Go away, Luna. You're the _last_ person I need to see right now."

Her words are clipped and knowing how close their bond is, cut right through to the bone. She thinks her repellent words are enough to knock Luna off her stride because she doesn't hear her respond with a refutation of any kind.

In fact, the light shining through the room from the hallway, slowly but surely closes until eventually, she's completely covered in darkness, indicating that the door was now closed. Before Luan can revel in her success, amidst her melancholy, the light in the room suddenly flashes on, prompting Luan to shield her eyes from the sudden burst of light that hit them.

"Come on, dude, you can't just lay something that thick on me and expect me not to be curious. Now, I _have_ to stick around."

Luan grumbled, knowing she should've seen this coming. However, that didn't mean she had to take Luna's intrusion lying down.

"No, you don't. Just leave me alone."

Instead of doing what she wants, she looks over her shoulder and sees Luna standing but a few feet away from her, her hands on her hips and her face fixed in a slight glower.

"Not happenin', Lu. Let me help you."

Luan matches her expression more vigorously as she uncurls herself and lays on her back, looking up at Luna while doing so.

"You can help by lea-"

"Except by leaving. You're not giving me the hook."

Whether it's her lack of energy or her wanting to get Luna's "therapy" out of the way as fast as she can, Luan cautiously gives her a nod, giving her permission to approach.

In a heartbeat, Luna strides over and sits at the edge of the bed, looking down at her with the motherly aura that always put her at ease.

But now…now it did little to make the pangs of guilt and shame go away. Luna's next choice of words don't help at all.

"So…it went badly, huh?"

There it went again; that terrible replay of events that happened one after another, torturing her as she relived her traumatic experience all over again on a loop and she can do nothing while lying down in a helpless, shuddering heap as she tries to will her thumping heart and oncoming waterworks at bay with uneven, spastic puffs of breath.

"Luan?" Luna asks concernedly while reaching a hand for her.

Just like with her father, Luan flinches backwards when she sees her hand coming. In the briefest flash, she sees Luna's face scrunch up, obviously hurt that she would try to put more distance between them when she was only trying to help.

That, along with recalling her disgrace at the comedy club, finally puts Luan over the edge. First, a sniffle, then a tear…then more and more until Luan was a crying mess all over again. She barely registers the shift of weight in her bed until Luna is sidled up right next to her, lying on her side while wrapping her up in a hug, effectively spooning her.

"Sssssssshhhhhh. Let it out, Luan. Let it out. You're safe now," Luna whispers, stroking her back softly.

And let it out, Luan does. For the next twenty minutes or so, Luan does nothing but weep, only taking intermittent breaks to mutter an apology for her earlier behavior through her hiccupping, choked-up voice. Through it all, Luna does nothing but hug her, reassuring her that everything would be fine and that she had nothing to apologize.

Finally, Luan feels a slight headache coming on and with all the crying she's done in the past three hours or so, she's not at all surprised. The pain is enough to stop her from sobbing, something that Luna instantly takes notices of.

"You ready to open up now?"

"Ready" is a strong word but Luan supposes she doesn't have much of a choice. There was no way that Luna would leave well enough alone and she knew that she couldn't realistically keep herself shut off. Besides that, she was dealing with Luna, someone who always gave her comfort in her darkest days.

She was there for her when she was nervous about having to go get braces for the first time. She literally stood right beside her while she tried to learn how to ride a unicycle. She even had a "feel good" song prepared for her when Mr. Coconuts required "emergency surgery" on his left arm.

In an instant, Luan found her earlier trepidation less plausible, though she remained somewhat guarded. She didn't think that Luna would do much to comfort her but at least she'd trust her to tend to her more than anyone else in the world, just like she always did.

And that…that _had_ to count for something, didn't it?

"I…I guess so," Luan says with a nod but regrets it when her brain feels like it's getting punctured by sharp bird talons.

Nodding with a headache. Bad idea.

"Good. Now then, from the top; what happened back there? I'm all ears."

Luan swallows nervously, steadying her nerves with closed eyes as she slowly sifts through the highlight reel of her 15 minutes of shame. Through this slow, steady process, Luan assumes control and pilots through with cautious navigation.

"Well, I, uh…well, you already know about my gig at the Harlequip Comedy Club, right?"

She feels something akin to a small tickle when the vibration of Luna's chuckle echoes in her ear.

"Of course, I do. You were really excited about going once you found out you got it."

Despite the chuckle, Luan can't bring herself out of her self-deprecation, only focusing on the pain that she feels only has the hope of slightly going away.

"If only I wasn't. Maybe then, I wouldn't have made such a fool out of myself out there," she grumbles and scoots up even closer into Luna's arms.

She pauses, waiting for Luna to tell her not to be so hard on herself. When she doesn't, she turns her head back and sees Luna giving her a small smile, followed by a nod.

She understands; she wants her to vent without interruption. It was her usual approach when consoling her siblings so she can't be surprised when she's giving her the same treatment.

Instead of nodding in response, lest her headache make her wince in agony, Luan simply moves on.

"Anyways, so I go there and at first, I'm a little nervous since, y'know, it's the first time I was going to do a comedy routine in front of so many unfamiliar people. Plus, pretty much every successful comedian got their start doing routines at comedy clubs, so the pressure was on me to follow in their footsteps so I could be a big shot someday, just like them.

But then, before it's my turn up next, this one guy goes out ahead of me and he floors everyone away. I mean, sure, the material was a bit racy and his language was, well, colorful to say the least but even if I'm not the person who goes for that kind of stuff, the fact is, he had everyone, including me, eating out of the palm of his hands."

Up until this point, Luan was sailing rather smoothly through her trip down memory lane but her expedition takes a bumpy turn at what she knows she has to recall next.

"And that's when everything went south," Luan said grimly. I should've known he'd be a tough act to follow. I should've known my material wouldn't be able hold up. But still, I felt…invigorated. Confident, even. If he could make those people laugh, why couldn't I, right?"

Luan lets out a chuckle that is far from sincere.

"Big mistake. I…I should've known I'd fail. When I finally got on stage and picked up the mic from the stand, I should've made an excuse, _any_ excuse to run out the door and not look back. It's not like I've ever been great at telling jokes, anyway. But me, being an absolute fool, thought that being the same 'ol Luan would cut it. And so…I opened up my act with this line that I hoped would impress 'em: 'I hope just like my teeth, you've all _braced_ yourselves for a good time.'"

Luan pauses again but before she looks back to see Luna's reaction, she stops herself. She could easily validate her fears about Luna not truly sympathizing her plight with what's sure to be her disappointed, unamused look on her face, the same look that she almost always had with her jokes, the same look that those patrons at the club had.

But she doesn't want that. At least, not without letting everything within her unravel and float to the surface while Luna's warm, motherly attention is keeping her from falling apart.

"As you can imagine," Luan continues, "that didn't go well at all. I just sucked out all the good vibes out of the room. Not a single one of them laughed, not even a giggle or a pity laugh. All I got were blank. I mean, sure, I think I heard Dad laugh but…c'mon, he's Dad. I'm not trying to say that he doesn't count or anything but, y'know, it's not like I went to that club to impress him."

Luan shivers, feeling ice running up her spine and her chest constricting as despite the pain, she feels another round of tears beginning to pool.

"That's…th-that's when…I-I started to panic. A-and I…"

She lets out a sharp cry of agony and clutches onto the side of her head, her headache not even allowing the slightest of sniffles to come out. Immediately, she feels Luna shifting about until one of her arms is free from her hug. Luan lets out a small sigh when she feels Luna's free hand threading through her hair to rub tenderly at her scalp.

The soothing effect calms her down after a few minutes and Luan finds the strength to continue, though Luna's ministrations continued regardless.

"Before I could open my mouth to try and get to my second joke in, I could hear a good number of them murmuring to each other, obviously about how awful I was. So then, I tried to do a little improv to catch 'em off guard; use some observation from my surroundings and get them to accept me. So, I give the cockiest smile I can muster and I say to 'em, 'So, I take it you're talking about how you're gonna tell your friends and family back at home about me, right?'

And that's when this one lady gets up out of her seat and yells, 'Yeah, we're gonna let 'em know how much you suck!' And then…then the place explodes with laughter. Everywhere I looked, it's all I could see; people pointing fingers at me, laughing their butts off…I even heard a few insults, too."

Luan's eyebrows begin to furrow, doing so when the next part of her story comes up.

"Then, I really began to lose it. I started crying. I even dropped to my knees and begged them to stop. That only got them to laugh harder. And that's when…that's when this really, really loud guy insults me and it hit harder than the rest of them. Up until that point, all I heard were barbs about my bad comedy. But this guy, he went personal. He told me, in no uncertain words, 'get off the stage, you buck-toothed, beaver-lookin' bitch."

She feels Luna's hand stop and she bites her lip to prevent a squeal of pain from coming out when she feels it slightly digging into her scalp. That, along with her shaking body, tells Luan that Luna trying to keep it together and not lose her cool.

This time, she feels like it's her turn to give her comfort and takes Luna's hands and rubs circles into it with her thumb, calming her down to a forgiving torrent instead of a Category 3 Hurricane.

With her sister relatively at ease, Luan moves on.

"I guess by that point, Mom and Dad had enough because they ran on stage and dragged me away before things could get any uglier and well…that's about it. That's the story about how I completely dropped the ball and made a complete fool out of myself."

With that, she turns around from her spot so she can see Luna in full view. She would've found her perturbed expression sincere if not for her consolation, which Luan finds to be completely hollow.

"Wow, Luan. I…I had no idea it went that rough for ya. I'm really sorry that happened."

Luan's temper flared. It was just as she suspected. That was all she could say and that was all that she was _going_ to say. Beyond getting stepped on like a welcome mat, Luna wasn't quick to rush to her defense, giving her fake assurances that she was funny and those patrons just didn't know better. She thought that she was in the wrong but instead of having the guts to come out and say it, she thought that her glib, meaningless apology would cover her on both ends.

She wasn't about to let that happened. She'd be damned if she'd let Luna play for a fool, not after everything that had already happened to her.

"Yeah…I guess you are, aren't you?" Luan retorted in a mocking tone.

She finds it a small victory when Luna flinches and her widened eyes reflect a wounded spirit.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Luna responds softly.

Luan snorts condescendingly. "Like you don't know."

Luan matches Luna's motion when she gets up to kneel on the bed. Though her sister's glare is soft, Luan soaks in the irritation regardless.

"Luan, seriously, if there's something you want to say, just say it," Luna challenges.

"Fine, you want me to say it? I'll say it. You can drop the act, Luna."

"Act? What act are you-"

"Quit lying to me!"

At that, Luan's head roars in pain and she responds in kind, growling irritably at her headache. But at the same time, she finds the pain…fueling, so much so that she glowers at Luna with intensity that contorts her facial muscles despite her head's relenting throbs of agony.

"All I ever get from you guys is groaning and moaning! 'Oh great, Luan's back again to _not_ make us laugh with her unfunny jokes.' That's what you all think every time you know I'm about to open up with a joke! I'll get lucky if I get so much as a chuckle out of any of you! Besides Dad, no one in this house thinks I'm funny, so how am I supposed to believe that you'd feel sorry for me?! That you wouldn't think that I'd do anything but completely bomb out there?!"

"Luan, I-"

"Stuff it! I don't want to hear it! I don't want you telling me that I deserved better because I've never gotten 'better' from nearly my entire family my whole life!"

She finally gives into her headache and submits to the pain, catching her breath and her grip on her temper as it simmers. Throughout her attempts to regain her bearings, Luan is content that Luna can do nothing but stare off sullenly in the corner.

Good. Maybe that would show her that she wasn't one to take advantage of. Maybe now, she'd understand that she wanted her to go away, not just out of a need to be left alone but for thinking she could honestly get one over on her.

Once her headache has subsided to agreeable levels, Luan still finds that she's not done letting things go off her chest, especially concerning her and Luna.

"I've always been terrible and I should've known that no matter where I go, I'm always going to get the same response. I'm just not cut out for the show business. Not like _you_. You were born for it.

You wanna know why I told you that you were the last person I wanted to see? It's because I didn't want someone better than me trying to cheer me up because not only did I know that I'd get fed nothing but lies but I'd just be reminded about how short I always come up compared to you."

This apparently sparks Luna's interest back into the conversation because she gives her a sad, disbelieving stare.

"You're cooler than me, more confident than me, prettier than me, and above everything else, you're a natural at what you do. Sure, your music may be too loud sometimes but you always bring the house down. You go up on that stage and you _own_ it. Heck, you have your own roadie. The best I have is getting booked for birthday parties for little kids and that doesn't count. That's not what real comedians do for a living, that's what clowns do.

I'm just…I'm just a clown, a clown who got too big for her britches by thinking that I could be myself and succeed. Tonight, I realized that I'm not cut out for being a comedian. That was what hurt me the most about that experience; I learned that for as long as I can remember, I've been doing nothing but wasting my time."

At last, the feeling of relief, the sensation of a task completed, cascades over Luan's entire being like a waterfall. It was finished, everything she needed to say was out in the open. She doesn't know what it'll do for her relationship with Luna but for better or worse, she was satisfied with airing out her grievances, especially since it looked like she caught Luna in the act of deception.

Turning her back to Luna, Luan points at the door.

"So please, please just get out and leave me alone. You don't truly sympathize with me and I'm telling you that you don't have to pretend that you do."

A good ten seconds flew by after he demand and Luan hopes that Luna has finally listened to reason and-

"Luan…"

Darn it, Luna.

"Luan, look at me."

"Luna, just go and-"

" _Please_."

It's the way that she whispers it that puts Luan's temper in check. She's begging her, _pleading_ her to let her in. Luna's never had to go that far for her before and it's that realization that spurs Luan's body to do as Luna wants.

Now, face-to-face with Luna, she sees her give a tiny smile, despite all the hurtful things she accused her of doing. It's enough to almost bring Luan to tears all over again, feeling as though she misjudged Luna severely but despite doing so, earned her forgiveness all the same.

"All that stuff you said, about me being cooler and prettier and whatever…I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. Even if all that stuff were true, the fact of the matter is, you're _braver_ than me," Luna admits brightly.

Luan mouth gapes. "What?"

She's almost offended when Luna's immediate reaction is to laugh.

"You may not believe this, since you wanna put me on a pedestal and all," Luna said, "but I've had tough crowds before. It hasn't been all peaches and cream with me. Unlike you, I always have a way out.

For me, playing loudly isn't just about…well, playing loudly. Music lets you escape from your problems and for me, the louder I play, the more immersed I get in my own little world, a world where only me and my music matters. In there, no matter what anyone says or does, it doesn't affect me because I'm having a blast in my own little party. So, if I think that a crowd isn't digging what I do, I just play louder until I've completely tuned them out."

Luan almost snickers when Luna playfully bops her on the nose with her finger.

"But you? You don't have that. You _have_ to listen out to what they say. You _have_ to see how they react. You _have_ to face the music no matter what it is. On top of that, you have to switch things up, just in case a joke or two falls flat. Then, there's dealing with hecklers that get in your face and won't shut the hell up. And look…look, by the sounds of it, things went really, really bad out there but just because you had one bad night, doesn't mean th-"

Luan put a hand up to cut Luna off. Right then and there, she had heard enough. Though she knew that she honestly meant well, that last part about her gig being just one bad measly time on stage…she couldn't have been anymore wrong if she tried.

"It was more than one bad night, Luna," Luna grumbles. "It was my first night, my first real gig and I completely messed it up. All that stuff you said about being brave and whatnot, it doesn't even matter; I ran away. How is _that_ brave?"

Luan reeled back when Luna's smile only gets bigger and she snickers, almost like she's trying to keep a secret that she wasn't supposed to tell her and she found amusement in keeping her out of the loop.

"Well, it's sure a hell of a lot braver than what I did with my first gig," Luna chuckled.

Okay…that just didn't compute. At all. If Luan were a robot, she was sure she'd be malfunctioning, beeping and whirring about as she tried to make sense of a illogical fallacy that superseded her programming.

"Wait? You mean the one that you had at the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Royal Woods Mall two years ago?"

Luna nods. "Yeah, that's the one."

"But…but you said that they ate you up out there. You said you were incredible, you said that-"

Luan gasps when Luna's grin gets a tad bit smaller and her freckled cheeks flush slightly.

"You…you mean that you lied?" Luan asks cautiously.

Luna nods again. "Yeah. I lied."

Okay, this was something that she had to hear, so much so that she gesticulated for Luna to continue with her explanation with a hand wave. Luna complies without much more prompting.

"The truth is, I wasn't nearly as good as I was back there than I am now. Sure, I always had a blast performing in front of my family and friends but in front of a crowd of strangers? No joke, I nearly peed myself when I got up on that stage."

Luan snickers and is relieved when Luna only nudges her lightly in the shoulder while letting out a laugh of her own.

"And then, when I tried playing a few chords to get a rhythm going and get into my performance the best I could, I overdid it and dropped my guitar."

Luna let out a weary sigh, one that emulated a war veteran reminiscing on his most "peaceful" days of battle.

"It only got worse from there; so, I go to bend over and pick it up, right? Weeeeeeeell, the problem was, when I bent down to get it, my butt was facing the crowd and since I was wearing a skirt…let's just say that I didn't leave a lot to the imagination.

I only realized what happened when I start getting laughs and wolf whistles. That's when I just grabbed my guitar and bolted off the stage, completely embarrassed. And then, when Mom and Dad drove me home, I made 'em promise not to tell anyone what happened."

Completely floored, Luan could only stare back at Luna at what she was telling her. All this time, she thought that Luna was perfect, that she was always such a talented, spotless performer that only messed up in practice sessions but absolutely owned the stage.

But now, even she knew that she wasn't all that great at first. And all the while, Luan thought that maybe, that meant that there could still be hope for her. Not much but at least something to bank on.

"I couldn't even get through a riff without losing it. You, on the other hand, at least got through your first joke," Luna said proudly before reaching out and putting two hands on Luan's shoulders.

By now, her face was serious, emanating none of the frivolity that she just had a few seconds ago. It made Luan slightly nervous, curling her fingers into the edge of her skirt as she awaited Luna's proclamation.

"And look, Luan, while it's true that I don't think that you're the funniest person in the world, that doesn't mean that I think you should get dissed like that. Just because hecklers exist doesn't mean that you're obligated to take their, pardon my French, bullshit, especially when they start insulting you about your looks.

You don't deserve to get treated like trash, Luan. You're one of the kindest, most outgoing people I know. No matter how we're feeling, you always try to make our day brighter, even if we don't always appreciate it.

I know your first gig sucked but that's only gonna make the memory of it that much sweeter when you look back on it after you've come so far. You know why I could tell you the truth without feeling so ashamed? It's because I know I've improved and I know that I'll only get better the harder I work and the more I practice.

So tonight, you learned that being the 'same 'ol Luan' didn't work out. Fine. So what? That doesn't mean that you have to change who you are, it just means you have to get a new game plan. You think I would've gotten this far if I was the 'same 'ol Luna' at thirteen?"

Luan shakes her head with a smile. She could only imagine Luna trying to get booked with a reputation of being a flasher and it almost makes her chortle.

"So, if you don't think your usual schtick works for more "professional crowds", fine. Just find out something that does but at the same time, be true to yourself.

Also, I'm not saying you have to do it when you're not ready but at least _try_ to improve yourself. Please. It pains me to see you thinking about giving up before you've barely even begun."

Luan finds that, even with her bad break just a few hours ago, she can't help but align herself with Luna's sentiments. Yes, it was true that she had been humiliated and yes, she did by just "being yourself". But Luna was right; being yourself didn't mean she had to fight against finding yourself in other areas, it just meant that she had to work hard to discover a niche that she hadn't even considered yet and refine it to perfection.

Before Luan can say her thanks, she's taken aback, but not disgusted, by another hug from her sister. She reciprocates it timidly, not wanting the moment to slip away from her after she had just been restored.

When she finally had in cinched in, to her surprise, Luna starts convulsing, doing so in the same way that she had been doing earlier while she was…crying?

Wait, what?

A warm, wet streak trickled down her cheek and she pulls away to confirm her suspicions; indeed, Luna was shedding tears, albeit with a grin on her face.

"You may think I'm trying to say 'the right things' just to say them but Luan, you know deep down that if I you knew the truth two years ago, you would've told me the same exact thing. And you'd say them out of love and conviction, just like I'm doing with you now. I believe in you, Luan; always have, always will."

Luan's worried expression melts into one of gratitude as she finds truth in her words. Just like she had her back, Luan would always look out for Luna.

She returns the hug again and whispers expressions of gratitude in her ear, along with apologies for being standoffish earlier.

After a few minutes of basking in her sister's embrace, Luan pulls away with something that was currently eating up at her, especially given the circumstances that her mother had laid out for everyone to abide by.

"But I gotta ask, how did you slip away from everyone to come up and see me?"

Luna shrugged. "I just went with a classic and said I had to take a dump."

Suddenly, Luan feels her insides bubble in anticipation, that same feeling she'd get when she had a pun she wanted to share with the world.

Even though she knew that she couldn't rely on her puns forever, that didn't mean she couldn't have fun with them every now and then.

Besides, _this_ one was way too good to pass up.

"Oh, is that right? Well, I guess they must've believed that you felt really pooped!"

Luan throws her head back and mirthfully cackles before ending her delivery with, "Get it?"

Though Luna doesn't laugh, Luan is happy that she at least got into the act, her amused smirk giving off the impression that she didn't hate it.

"Yeah, I get it. Now come on downstairs and watch TV with us. I'll make sure you get to watch whatever you want, no questions asked, okay?"

Luan lets out a flattered giggle and smiles brightly.

"Ah, shucks, Luna, you don't have to go out of your way to do that for me."

Luna shakes her head, insisting on the contrary.

"Of course, I do. You're worth it, Luan."

With that, Luan watched as Luna slid out of the bed and opens the door. Immediately, the sound of bickering siblings permeates through the wide crevice, indicating that they still hadn't come off their argument since it first began after Luna left.

Soon, Luan quickly follows suit, catching up to Luna by the doorway just in time for her punchline: "And believe me, Luan, that's no joke."

* * *

 **A/N:** I just realized that I've made Luan…kinda OOC. She's really not self-aware of her jokes not going over well with her siblings. Or, I suppose that one could argue that she either doesn't care or is just burying her hurt feelings underneath a cheery smile. If you could buy the latter, then I suppose this isn't too far-fetched of a plausible story.

Also, in my personal headcanon, both Luna and Lori are the only Loud children who swear. Lori, because it compliments her fiery, hot-headed personality and Luna, because if you've seen the Christmas special then…yeah, you know the part I'm talking about. ;)


End file.
